


When the Wind Blows

by SparkyFrootloops



Category: Natsume Yuujinchou | Natsume's Book of Friends
Genre: Gen, Reveal Fic, fujiwara's are best parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-12 23:13:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28518429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SparkyFrootloops/pseuds/SparkyFrootloops
Summary: Thoughts from the Fujiwara's about their son, and a reveal.
Relationships: Fujiwara Shigeru & Natsume Takashi, Fujiwara Shigeru/Fujiwara Touko, Fujiwara Touko & Natsume Takashi
Comments: 6
Kudos: 99





	When the Wind Blows

**Author's Note:**

> This was a gift for Paperlandings over on Tumblr, part of the Natsume gift exchange! I hope you like it!!

~Touko~

At first, Touko thinks she’s imagining things. At the very least, a lot of what she notices could be dismissed as the results of a child who was left alone for most of his life, and the subsequent coping mechanisms developed afterward. She found Takashi talking to himself almost constantly, or if not to himself, to his cat, but always in such a way that it was almost as if he expected the feline to understand and respond. She would catch glimpses of conversations, but only half of them. It wasn’t that she was  _ trying _ to snoop, it was just that he didn’t seem to notice when she was just down the hall, or in the room next to his, or just outside the open window. The walls in the house weren’t the thickest, and the sounds carried through the vents, so it really isn’t her fault that she catches such snippets. 

Still, no matter what she hears, she doesn’t interfere. She doesn’t want her boy, so shy and skittish when he first came here and barely coming out of his shell little by little, to retreat back and undo all the progress he’s made. She wishes he would come to her, maybe talk with her the same way she sees him talking to shadows (shadows that seem to have no origin) or his cat (a cat that definitely understands what they say, and responds in any way he can when they talk to him, too). She tries her best to coax him into conversations, and he always looks a mixture of stunned and hopeful when she does, but the conversation never lasts long. She finds herself just the slightest bit jealous of those shadows he talks to late into the night, even if he sounds annoyed more often than not. It’s better than the mask he seems to wear like armor, a cloak that hides the real Takashi inside.

She wonders what he would say, if he felt free to say everything he felt.

(~)

~Shigeru~

Shigeru is neither blind nor stupid. He sees that there is  _ something _ going on, but he’s smart enough not to bring it up. He recognizes some signs even  _ before _ Takashi blew out the doors to his room with the flutterings of paper that came from more than just the paper doors gently floating around them. That event had been the proverbial nail on the coffin, making it extremely obvious that there was  _ something _ going on, even if Shigeru is sure that he would never guess the truth even in his wildest dreams. 

He brings it up with Touko one night when they’re both listening to the quiet whispers of their boy in his room, arguing with the wind and sounding annoyed at losing the argument. “Who do you think he’s talking to, so late at night?”

Touko hums, contemplative, “I don’t know. But I hope whoever it is, Nyankichi keeps them in line.”

Shigeru smiles because he knows that as lazy as that cat is, he always seems to be exactly where Takashi needs him. “I’m sure he is.”

(~)

~Natsume~

Natsume, if he had his way, would choose to never tell another soul that he could see yokai again. If there was anything that growing up in all those changing households had taught him, it was that no one would believe him if he were to tell the truth.  _ Liar _ , the voices from his past echo in his head even now.  _ Troublemaker, snake, nuisance.  _ How many times had he heard those words, usually accompanied with a stiff swat to the back of his head or anywhere else that the painful hands were unlucky enough to reach. So no, the only ones who would know in his life were the yokai themselves, and anyone unfortunate enough to stumble across the truth. 

He had hoped to leave the Fujiwara’s out of his secret for as long as possible, but that all went out the window when he himself did.

(~)

The sound of a clap rings through the air, the sound clear as a bell with a hint of otherworldly ringing in the mix. The Fujiwara’s look at each other in curiosity as they see the wind blow in a strange gust through the trees outside. It’s odd how the wind seems to blow from the upstairs bedroom. When eyes look up to see, they see Takashi leaning on the windowsill, a piece of paper held between his lips, hands held close and eyes shut as if in prayer. The scene is tranquil, his hair blowing with the paper and the sun shining in such a way that it almost looks as if it isn’t coming from behind him, but  _ from _ him. 

That tranquility bursts as Takashi’s form slumps to the side, missing the window side and instead the boy tumbles out of the window and onto the roof. 

“Takashi!” Shigeru leaps to his feet along with Touko, both running as fast as their old legs could carry them as their boy slips over the edge and into the garden below.

(~)

Natsume groans, reaching up a hand to rub his head. His eyes look up to where his room was, clearly too far above him. He’d finally fallen off the roof, it seems. 

“Oh, thank goodness.” The voice sounds so relieved, a stark contrast to the dread that washes through Natsume as soon as he recognizes Touko’s voice. 

His head whips over to the voice and notices that it isn’t just her, but Shigeru coming up to him as well. 

“Takashi, are you all right.” Shigeru reaches him first, skidding on his knees to a stop with barely a forgotten wince. Right now he’s clearly more concerned with Natsume than his aching knees, that thought clenching like a hand around his heart. 

“I’m fine,” Natsume tries for a smile, “It was just a little tumble, the bush broke my fall.”

Neither Touko nor Shigeru look convinced, and Natsume can't really blame them. He's been known to get sick at the smallest puff of wind, so to those who hadn't seen him fall from higher heights (and how would they) Natsume's frailty would definitely be a concern. 

Shigeru was checking over him, making use of the first aid course he'd taken when he'd decided to take in their charge. Nothing seemed to be broken, just bruised, which was lucky considering how far Natsume had fallen. Shigeru looked up to the bedroom window where Nyangoro was sitting staring down at them. 

Shigeru isn’t sure who might have spoken next, but between one moment and the next, Takashi’s eyes slide past him and Touko and widen in alarm. Shigeru doesn’t think, just as he hadn’t thought when he ran to try and catch his son, even though he was too far to have done anything. Shigeru wraps an arm around Takashi, surprising the boy into staring at him just in time to see his face morph into a threatening glare. “Whoever you are, if you don’t leave Takashi alone, you’ll regret it.”

He feels a little silly, threatening the air, but he can’t help but feel it’s the right move when he feels Takashi lose just the barest hint of the tension in his shoulders. They may all still be in danger, and from what, Shigeru doesn’t know, but at the very least he can make sure that Takashi isn’t alone. 

Takashi gasps, then grins. “Close your eyes.”

Shigeru and Touko do, because they trust their boy, and behind their eyelids they can see a flash of light that probably would have been blinding if Takashi hadn’t warned them.

When Shigeru opens his eyes, Takashi is holding his cat just like he does most days. Shigeru takes note of the height of the window where he’d just seen the cat a moment ago, and wonders if Nyangoro is even a cat at all. Takashi looks nervous, like he’s expecting something that would hurt him even though Shigeru can tell by his posture that the danger is gone. Whatever it was that had spooked Takashi in the first place, it’s gone now with that flash of light. If he were to think hard enough, he probably would have been able to come up with some other times where a flash of light had happened in their home, but right now he has more pressing matters.

He places a gentle hand on Takashi’s head, making sure that he can see it coming and move if he chose. Takashi still flinches, because there are scars that can’t be seen hiding under the surface, but Shigeru pushes through that to ruffle his boy’s hair. “Are you alright?”

Takashi looks stunned, and Shigeru gets the impression that he was bracing himself for a different, much harder question. The relief that washes over Takashi makes something ease in Shigeru’s heart. So much has been taken from him from such a young age, if Shigeru can give him something as simple as a  _ care _ and  _ choice _ , then it’s the least he can do. 

Takashi nods, “I’m ok… I bet you two are wondering what just happened, though, aren’t you?”

Touko adds her own warmth to the pile, wrapping one arm around Takashi only because Shigeru is blocking the other. “Takashi, we want to know you’re safe, but if you aren't ready to tell us, then that’s ok. We can wait, it’s all up to you if you want to tell us and when.”

Natsume seems to chew on the decision a moment, fidgeting with his fingers. He comes to a decision, resolve taking hold in those golden eyes of his. “I want to tell you.”

It’s like a flood gate has been opened. Once he starts, he can’t seem to stop, the whole time his fingers playing in Nyangoro’s fur. By the end, Shigeru and Touko understand less about the world around them, and yet so much more about the incredibly good and brave boy that lives in their hearts. They hold him, making their presence known in a silent mantra of  _ I’m here, I’m here, I’m here. _


End file.
